Although this book has one author’s name on the cover, Musical U has never been about a single “guru”, and this book is no exception. It’s been my pleasure and honour to author it, but the ideas, methods and frameworks you’ll find inside have been the product of a whole host of contributors to our approach over the last 15 years, and I have drawn extensively on prior material developed by the Musical U team.
First and foremost my eternal gratitude to our Head Educator, Andrew Bishko, whose experience and wisdom have helped shape Musical U into something I never would have expected or hoped for it to be. There’s a lot of Andrew throughout everything we do, including this book—and it’s all far better for it!
Our team has been blessed with truly incredible, heart-led musicians and music educators over the years. In roughly chronological order, my thanks to team members Stewart Hilton, Marisa Balistreri, Adam Liette, Anastasia Voitinskaia, Zac Bailey, Anne Mileski, Ben Marcoux, John Conroy, Hannah Cain, Donald Herndon, Steve Lee, Arias Flory, Thomas Infante, Andy Portas, Camilo Suárez, Mohammed Wael, Mark Hanna, Nicholas Price, Charm Cajurao, and Almut Spaeth.
We’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate on course creation with Sabrina Peña Young, Gregg Goodhart, Anne Mileski, and Fini Bearman, stretching our curriculum in new and exciting directions each time.
Our Resident Pros have each contributed significant instrumental insight: Sara Campbell and Ruth Power (Piano), Dylan Welsh (Guitar), Clare Wheeler (Singing), and Steve Lawson (Bass).
… and that’s not to mention all our Masterclass presenters, Guest Experts, Musicality Now podcast interviewees, and all the other educators I’ve had the joy of consulting with over the years. It pains me not to name every name!
And last but certainly not least, our incredible member community at Musical U. As early as the launch of the membership site in 2015, it was clear that we could learn as much from our members as they could from us. I’m deeply proud and thankful for our unbelievable community, from those students who just take a single course with us, through our devoted ongoing members, and our remarkable *Next Level* coaching clients. You have made Musical U into the wonderful place it has become. Our approach, as presented in this book, would be a shadow of what it is, without your constant engagement, feedback, and sharing of your own musical journeys in the community.
Finally, a few thank yous on the personal side. Firstly, to all the coaches, mentors and mastermind buddies who have helped me on the business side of building Musical U with such expertise and generosity. In particular, my phenomenal coach Mandy Keene, whose compassionate wisdom has kept me going, even in the darkest times.
And none of this would have been possible for me without the love, support and encouragement of my family throughout. In particular, my parents, Jean and John Sutton, who nurtured an early interest in music, provided the best possible education, and have inspired and encouraged me on my entrepreneurial journey. My daughters, Alice and Laura, who lift me up and remind me not to be too serious. And my wife Natalina, to whom this book is dedicated.
If I’d included musical artists in my Acknowledgements, it would have turned into a full-length chapter. But I have often wondered what my favourite authors listened to while writing their books.
In my case, I might not have made it through this year without The Mountain Goats. The Polyphonic Spree powered many a late night editing-and-formatting session. Bowling For Soup and Punk Rock Factory gave me energy when I needed it most. And Brain.fm and its contributing musicians enabled deep work and focus when more coffee was going to be a bad idea. They all, in a sense, deserve co-author credit on this book. While I didn’t listen to ABBA, I will say thank you for the music.